DOM WIEŚ

Southwest View

She continues, “Four gable-roof buildings complement the centrally located library, each one solving its own specific part of the program in accordance with the adjoining section: The east building is for cooking and gardening; the south building is for arts and crafts; the west building houses law, science, and music; and the north building, accommodating the areas for rest and recovery, contains meditation and self development. Linking the volumes together—thematically as well as systematically—the library functions as the core and the bloodstream of the project.

Pole Pass Retreat | Olson Kundig

This thatch-roofed brick cottage in Nieby, Germany, was originally built by tenant farmers or crofters from a nearby estate in the late 1800s. It stands on a small triangular plot of land surrounded by barley fields and faces toward the Geltinger Birk nature reserve. The home’s street-facing facade was preserved and restored with only a minimal, black-steel dormer window belying the more substantial alterations which open onto the private rear yard. A subtle black-framed addition containing an oak-lined living space is tucked under the thatched roof and opens onto a sunken timber terrace while large picture windows are cut into the historic brick volume in areas which had been damaged from the previous additions.

The new principal bedroom is tucked at the rear of the home, where it benefits from a small outdoor terrace capped with a privacy screen.

The existing sitting room facing the street has been transformed into an office to allow for the hybrid working from home. This use of the street-facing space evokes a historical set-up with workshops on the ground floor and living accommodation above.

Eames chairs surround the live-edge dining table on a terrace.